News

A California lawmaker reportedly dropped her push to cap charges for low-income subscribers after the state’s BEAD funds were threatened.

By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

California Assemblymember Tasha Boerner has dropped her proposal to mandate affordable broadband to low-income subscribers.

Her decision reportedly came after Trump Administration officials told her California could lose access to BEAD funds as a result.

The revelation, reported by Jon Brodkin of Ars Technica, comes months after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear challenges to a similar law in New York.

New York’s Affordable Broadband Act, currently in effect, caps prices for qualifying consumers at $20 per month for high-speed internet.

If Boerner’s law had been enacted, ISPs would have had to cap plans for low-income subscribers at $15 per month, according to the text of the proposed bill.

According to Ars Technica’s report, officials from the Trump Administration delivered a message to Boerner’s office.

The publication reported that Boerner was told California could lose access to the state’s allotted $1.86 billion in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funds if the law was enacted.

Boerner also told Ars Technica the NTIA informed her that “explicit or implicit rate regulation would disqualify a state for access.”

It remains unclear what effect, if any, recent developments will have on New York’s Affordable Broadband Act.

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